Archive for the ‘Messy Fruits’ Category

Osage Orange As A Landscape Tree

Osage orange (Maclura pomifera) has been declawed and neutered (USDA Zones 5-9). A member of the mulberry family (Moraceae), this tough prairie tree species is native to east Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. It grows fast @ 2 ½ to 3 feet per year. It is also called Bois D’Arc (pronounced “bow-dark”). Osage orange is a […]

Baptisias – Long-Lived Native Perennials

Wild indigos or Baptisias (Baptisia spp.) are long-lived native perennials. Baptisias are tap rooted perennials that will reward you for many years. They’re sometimes mistaken for Carolina lupine (Thermopsis caroliniana). Modern day cultivars are hybrids of 4 Baptisia species: purple (B. australis), lavender blue (B. minor), white (B. alba), bright yellow (B. sphaerocarpa). Several bicolors are also […]

Common Street and Landscape Trees

Across the U.S. and Canada, city planners, landscape architects, and property owners now enjoy a wide selection of landscape trees to plant on city streets, along roadsides, and in yards and gardens. Over the past half century new and improved varieties (cultivars) are disease and pest resistant and exhibit better branching and architecture. We now know to avoid […]

Tree Cultivars That Do Not Produce Seeds Or Fruits

Perhaps you don’t like picking up messy fruits and seeds from your lawn in the fall and winter. Choose landscape trees that have seedless cultivars. A true seedless variety is an easy choice to avoid fruit cleanup. Below are a few non-fruiting or seedless cultivars available at nurseries. Not all plants listed are recommended for all home […]

Don’t Totally Dislike All Box Elder Trees

Box elder (Acer negundo) is a native fast-growing and suckering medium-sized tree (USDA hardiness zones 4b-8).  Branches are weak wooded and easily damaged in wind and ice storms. Box elder grows almost anywhere in any average soil, medium to wet, and in full sun. The species fails on a shady site. This weedy maple is […]

Tidy Up These Perennials After Blooming Is Finished

Deadheading, the practice of removing the old spent flowers from perennials, is a way to improve a garden’s appearance and reduce overcrowding. Secondarily, many (not all) will rebloom after deadheading. Not all perennials respond to deadheading by reblooming. Most daylilies (Hemerocallis x.), coralbells (Heuchera spp.), and hostas (Hosta spp.) are prime examples of perennials that do not […]

Stop The “Crape Murder”

In Tennessee (where I live) and in the Southeastern U.S., bad crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia x) pruning continues to be done by professional landscapers and homeowners (USDA hardiness zones 6-9). This practice, also called “topping”, reduces tree (or shrub) height. Over 25 years, Southern Living magazine called this “crape murder”. Crape murder is not going away. More crape […]

Five Landscape Plants On The Gardeners’ Taboo List

To many people, maintaining a garden or landscape means a lot of hard work. Sometimes the weeds outgrow what you have planted. Some landscape plants promise a lot of beauty but deliver nothing but problems. Some trees are weak wooded, prone to pests or diseases, and outgrow their space. Some produce smelly odorous flowers. I urge […]

Uniquely Different Chinese Flame Tree

Chinese flame tree, aka bougainvillea goldenrain tree (K. bipinnata), is another tree option in U.S. southern landscapes (USDA hardiness zones 7-10). It is closely related to the more widely planted goldenrain tree (Koelruteria paniculata). This fast growing tree develops into a nice 20-40 feet tall medium-size tree with an irregular canopy. Chinese flame tree is highly drought tolerant (after one year established). […]

Landscape Trees With Messy Fruits

              Fruit avoidance is on the mind of many property owners when purchasing trees and shrubs for their yard. Many like crabapples, mulberries and Chinese (kousa) dogwoods produce fleshy or pulpy fruits that mess lawns, walkways and stain parked cars. Many, not all, are non-native and foraging birds and […]